Mercy and three physician partners last week announced plans to build a new medical center on Navarre Avenue in Oregon.

Dr. Imran Andrabi, MD, chief operating officer and president/chief network integration officer, Mercy, was joined by physicians of the Mercy Oregon Clinic, Toledo Clinic, and Toledo Cardiology Consultants to announce the construction of the Mercy Medical Center last Tuesday.

The $9.7 million project will consolidate, under one roof, services such as imaging, laboratory, rehabilitation services, as well as provide office and clinical space for Mercy, Toledo Clinic and TCC physicians. The building brings to life the vision of enhanced access to quality care offered outside of a hospital setting. It is expected to create at least 20 new clinical and non-clinical jobs.

“Mercy started working with the Oregon Clinic in 2010 to discuss how we can integrate,” Kewal Mahajan, MD, Mercy Oregon Clinic, said in a prepared statement. “The outcome is this project, an outpatient, comprehensive care center with high-quality access to primary and specialty care, state-of-the-art diagnostic facilities, and tender-loving rehabilitative services at one site. Both organizations are indebted to the community and wanted to give something back that we can be proud of. As a result, the vision was finalized.”

A case decided last week by the Ohio Supreme Court included arguments from a court battle in the 1980s between the City of Oregon and the operators of a local landfill.

In the recent case, the City of Munroe Falls found itself in a position similar to Oregon when Oregon officials were trying to enact a city ordinance that assessed a fee on waste disposed at the landfill operated then by Fondessy Enterprises.

Fondessy filed suit in Lucas County Common Pleas Court, claiming the ordinance violated state law. The court ruled in favor of Fondessy, as did the Sixth District Court of Appeals. Oregon appealed to the state supreme court and in May 1986 the court ruled in favor of the city.

In Munroe Falls, city officials have been at odds with Beck Energy, which obtained a state permit in 2011 to drill for oil and gas on property whose owner had leased the mineral rights to the company. The permit issued by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Oil and Gas Resources included several provisions but Munroe Falls filed a lawsuit in Summit County Common Pleas Court to stop the drilling, claiming Beck Energy was violating local zoning laws.

Elmore Mayor Matt Damschroder said several business owners on Rice Street have told him they’ve been negatively impacted by the loss of the Huntington Bank branch in town.

“They tell me, ‘Get us another bank,’” the mayor said. “That’s what I’m hearing from them. Business is falling off. People would come to the dowtown area to do their banking but are no longer doing that. So they’re not stopping at the coffee shop, or the Village Inn, or an antique store. Not having a bank downtown is really hurting us badly. The businesses can’t run across the street and get change or make deposits any more.”

Huntington National Bank closed the branch, located at 365 Rice Street, at the end of last year as part of a consolidation and is listing it for sale with Signature Associates. According to the company’s website, the asking price is $199,000 for the 2,860-square-foot building and .70-acre parcel.

Teresa Gross, a manager of the Pills ‘n’ Packages, 350 Rice St., said the loss of the bank branch has forced the store/pharmacy to change its policy and no longer accept $100 or $50 bills unless it covers the customer’s bill. The store has also adopted a policy of no cash back on checks and debit cards.

Oregon officials praised officers from their police division for catching and arresting an alleged kidnapper following a high speed car chase last weekend that started at a gas station in Port Clinton.

It was the second car chase in which Oregon officers have been involved in the last month.

“They both ended well,” said City Administrator Mike Beazley.

Last Sunday, Oregon police joined in the pursuit of a 24-year-old man from Rochester, New York, after he allegedly kidnapped a woman who had earlier agreed to give him a ride outside a carryout in Port Clinton.

“At some point, he decided that he wanted her to drive him somewhere else,” said Oregon Police Chief Mike Navarre. “She was able to get on the phone and call 911. During the telephone conversation, he could be overheard telling her to `keep driving, or I’m going to kill you.’”

Sheriff’s deputies from Ottawa County were unsuccessful in their attempts to stop the vehicle, said Navarre.